1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image selection device for selecting a plurality of images, and a control method thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
With the increase in capacity of digital camera hard disks and memory cards over recent years, it has become easier to store a large number of images. When selecting images for an album from among a large number of images, a great deal of effort is required to select the images so that nobody is shown with a biased impression.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-276484 discusses a method for performing an efficient image search when selecting an intended image from among a large number of image candidates, by recording once-displayed images in a history, and imposing a restriction on the display of the once-displayed images.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-295889 discusses a method in which personal information about an object contained in an image is registered, and such personal information is associated with a second person who has a strong association with a first person. Consequently, an album is produced which is free from bias in the number of times or the area that the first person and the second person are contained in the same page.
According to the technique discussed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-276484, a restriction is imposed on images once displayed on a selection candidate screen as a search result. Since the same restriction is imposed based on whether an image has been displayed even when the number of images increases, it is impossible to know which images should be preferentially displayed.
According to the technique discussed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-295889, a bias-free impression can be achieved among people who were determined to be associated with each other. However, a specific person is selected even when the images for everybody must be evenly included, in a case such as making a school album.